Scientists' debriefing

One would like to refer to the front-paged news item on January 27 captioned 'Nuke proliferation probe progressing well'. Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid's substitution of the so-far used expression 'debriefing' with the word investigation comes as a great relief.
Debriefing conveyed the impression of 'brain-washing' which used to be common practice in certain regimes in the past. It, therefore, was extremely revolting to learn that some of the country's top scientists had been chosen to be 'brain-washed'.
A reference to the dictionary for the meaning of the word 'debriefing' was hardly helpful. According to Chamber's dictionary 'debriefing' stood for gathering information from a soldier, astronaut etc on his return from a mission.
But in this case the process entailed no arrest as one of our scientists. No one knows whose idea of the arrest of scientists was an unwarranted shame had been brought to the nation.
The background of the episode goes to an article in the Time magazine alleging Pakistan's collusion with Iran, Korea (North) and Libya in their nuclear programmes.
On the strength of this article the International Atomic Energy Agency contacted the Pakistan government to know its position vis-a-vis the allegation of the magazine.
In response the government placed the scientists, named by the magazine, under arrest and began what it called 'debriefing' of them.
Without going into the merits or demerits of IAEA querying Pakistan over the allegation contained in the Time article, one would say the government's response has been an over-reaction reminiscent of that it showed on Colin Powell's phone call at the time of 9/11 incident.
It would be recalled that when it was demanded of Pakistan that it become a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty the government had taken the stand that it was not in a position of signing this treaty so long as neighbouring India also did not sign it.
Thus, like India we are not a signatory to the NPT. Notwithstanding it, the government has chosen to go after the scientists hammer and tongs.
There is no denying the fact that there are voluntarily placed curbs on our nuclear programme which are more or less the same as apply under the NPT.
As such any deliberate transfer of our nuclear technology was simply out of question.
However, if a leakage of this technology had taken place, the scientists associated with the programmes were under obligation to explain how. They should have been required as per procedure to explain their respective positions. There would thus have been no tarnishing of the scientists' image in the public eye.
Instead, a media trial of the scientists is on. If the perception behind it is that this would convince the world of the rightness of the government's oft-proclaimed claim that the country's strategic assets were in 'safe' hands the likely effects is going to be quite contrary. The government would do well to disabuse itself of the misperception.
Scientists belong to the country's highly intellectual class of persons. They are not the stuff that raw army recruits are made of. The impromptu shabby treatment being meted out to the scientists has made the nation hang its head in shame.
Their arrest, incarceration and media slanderisation constitute for them grave mental torture which might incapacitate them to engage in their professional work in future.
One would demand with all the emphasis at one's command that the grave wrong done through the customary hauteur of our rulers towards the common man be promptly undone.